PHOENIX – The Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns may yet lock up in a battle of teams helped by PEDs (Performance Enhancing Deals).

It may happen in April. Possibly in May.

But on Thursday, with new Sun Shaquille O’Neal on a bench at US Airways Center and perhaps soon-to-be Mav Jason Kidd in limbo, it was a whole different scenario that played out in Phoenix’s 109-97 win.

Yes, a Suns big man and a Mavs point guard dueled for points. Instead of O’Neal and Kidd, though, it was Amare Stoudamire and Jason Terry. Terry scored 29 points, two shy of the season high he set back in November, but the Mavs couldn’t find a way to stop Stoudamire.

He scored 26 points, and his dunk – and follow-up free throw with 3:39 left to play – extended Phoenix’s lead to seven points. It also seemed to break whatever was left of the Mavs’ spirit. The Suns outscored Dallas 32-24 in the fourth quarter.

“They had an extra gear and we couldn’t get there,” Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. “They just had a better fourth quarter. We battled for four quarters, but just didn’t have that finishing kick.”

The Mavs enter the All-Star break 35-18, now third in the Southwest Division, percentage points behind second-place San Antonio. The loss also dropped them a half game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

The Mavs could use the break. Thursday marked the end of a stretch of four games in five days. The Mavs lost three of them. They have failed to score at least 100 points in any of their last five games, a season-long drought.

“We have strong character and very good integrity,” Johnson said. “Our guys don’t make any excuses. We’re not a perfect basketball team, but we’ve got a lot to hang our hats on. I’m proud of our guys.”

The Mavs could also use some time to try and reconfigure that deal with New Jersey that would bring them Kidd. The stumbling point is Devean George, who has blocked the trade and found himself a starter at the same time. George played a season-high 43 minutes but had little to show for it.

AP

Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire takes on Dallas Mavericks center Erick Dampier. Stoudemire led the Suns with 26 points.

George, missed his first two shots of the night to extend his string of misses to 13 straight. He did hit a 3-pointer with four minutes left in the first quarter to break the drought. He finished with seven points and six rebounds.

If these teams do end up meeting in the playoffs, it may be with wholly different rosters than have suited up for the first two games of the regular-season series.

Neither Josh Howard nor Devin Harris, both of whom started and combined for 44 points in the Mavs’ 108-105 win on Dec. 19 at the American Airlines Center, played Thursday because of injuries. Harris is the centerpiece of the Mavs’ proposed deal for Kidd, so it’s likely he won’t be around when the clubs meet again April 6 in Phoenix.

Shawn Marion, who scored 23 points for Phoenix in the first meeting, is now in Miami as part of the O’Neal deal. O’Neal, still nursing a sore hip, has yet to play for Phoenix.

In April, the Mavs come to Phoenix two days after a visit to the West’s other beefed-up contender, the Los Angeles Lakers, who acquired Pau Gasol from Memphis earlier this month.

Those games may be a preview of playoff matchups. With both rosters still unsettled, Thursday’s game was more of a mashup.